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Barbell How bad are curls?

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Yep, curls are evil. As much as squats destroy your knees, deadlifts will kill your back, bench is bad for the shoulders, lifting heavy will make you slow...

Curls, done properly, are described in Power to the people. There is also a good video on them by Rip, that makes a lot of sense. Another way to mimic the movement is by doing chinups. It works the biceps hard.
You can also do curls with a kettlebell, at the bottom of the goblet squat. They are the only curls I do. Maybe it is why I still have very small arms... :)

So many options...
 
Anyhow, any thoughts on how worthwhile or not curling with a barbell is?
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Bicep Exercises

All compound exercises (Rows, Pull Ups, Lat Pull Downs, etc) work the biceps.

Since the biceps the smallest and weakest muscles in compound exercise; the biceps receiver the greatest overload.

Thus, the majority of individuals who preform compound exercises get more than enough biceps work.

Smallest Muscle

The biceps comprises 1/3 of the size of your arms. While more biceps work help in building larger arms.; the focus should be on increasing the largest muscle in the arm, the triceps which composes 2/3 of your arm size.

Triceps Exercises

As with the biceps, the triceps are overloaded with compound exercises (Shoulder Press, Bench Press, Incline Press, Decline Press, Dips, etc).

Thus, the triceps like the biceps receive a lot of overload work when compound exercise are performed.

"The Money Exercises"

Think of training exercises like money. You want to invest your money in something that generates that greatest return.

"The Money Exercises" do just that.

"The Money Exercises" are compound exercise such as: Squats, Pressing Movements, Deadlifts, Olympic Movements, Kettlebell Exercises, etc.

Curls equate to placing your money in a Saving Account that pays 3%. It generates very little return for your investment.

Take Home Message

Adding Curls to the mix is fine, after you have performed "The Money Exercises".

I perform Curls at the end of my "Pull Day Program" after my compound exercises.

Kenny Croxdale
 
Isn't there a story in S&S about a strongman who is doing goblet squat curls in the gym and someone comes up and asks if that's his favourite bicep exercise and he replies "Favourite, and only"
 
Curls aren't bad. They are just very very ineffective. You want biceps, do chin ups. Can't do chin ups ? Then something isn't right.
 
MattM said:
Very ineffective? A bit overboard I think.
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And simply not true.
I read a lot of times that if you want big guns you have to do pullups and squats, because curls alone won't do much and that's BS.
I don't disagree that squats and especially pullups are beneficial to bicep growth, but they build mass in general.
I have a good amount of friends who train just for the looks/aestethics. They don't do bodybuilding (competing) or want to be as big as possible. They are after a certain individual look. Strength is a by-product, but not the goal.
And let's be realistic, 80% or more of the gyms population train for looks and nothing else.
If you happen to have achieved a certain size and just want proportionally bigger arms you don't do pullups and bench press, because they will stimulate your whole upper body to grow aswell.
You do curls and tricep extensions and those are very effective - for that goal.
Effective or ineffective is decided by the goal.
Curls might not be the best if you're after pure strength, but for other goals they can be very effective.
 
Dan John has talked about using curls with fat grips as an easy strength lift. If he likes them for strength and functional muscle, you probably should too.
 
@MattM Do you mean a Cheat Curl or a Power Curl? I did Power Curls working up to a heavy single before Zercher Squats to great effect. I liked Power Curl because I did not have the flexibility to clean.


Power Curl
 
Dan_123 said:
Isn't there a story in S&S about a strongman who is doing goblet squat curls in the gym and someone comes up and asks if that's his favourite bicep exercise and he replies "Favourite, and only"
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The story is in S&S, if memory serves, and it's about Armed Forces PL champion Jack Reape.

-S-
 
Lots going on in standing curls other than just biceps muscle activation. At the top of the movement it's a kind of rack position like with kettlebells. Also, the back and shoulders are activated to maintain stability during the curl, and I seem to notice even my calf muscles in my legs getting a wee bit tired from having to stay upright for the pull. Given that the barbell curl is something that I can clearly see muscular growth from over the past few months, and it's only 90 lbs, so not harming my floor, I can't see how it's not worth doing. It also certainly gives me more strength for judo. It's definitely not crap. I happen to enjoy the movement, it doesn't feel overly straining or anything like that, so this is why I've gravitated towards it. I can understand that other compound exercises, like overhead kettlebell presses, activate the biceps anyhow, but with a slightly sore right shoulder still, it's nice to be getting something out of an exercise I can put all my effort into with no awkwardness.
 
I think the only thing wrong with curls is a lot of young men's obsession with big arms. I knew one guy who did only curls because he wanted big arms. That kind of thing gives them bad image.
 
I'm a guy who has never done isolation exercises before (like curls). A couple months ago I starting working with a power lifting coach. He has had me doing curls, horizontal rows (not exactly isolation exercise but it was new to me), triceps extensions, and other types of band tension exercises as accessory exercises.

I was a little weary of this at first. But my arms are a little bit bigger now, but not by much. I don't really care about this.

My bench press is improving, no doubt. And I'm not saying it's only the curls, but I'm sure they have their role to play in my programming. To be very specific, when I'm lifting with heavier weights (for me, I'm not that strong), I feel a lot more stable in the second half of the press. Also, in the past I used to explode the bar up (sort of like a push press), but as the weights get heavier, I am grinding more and now my arms can handle the task.

As a guy who used to always feel too good for the isolation, "bodybuilding" exercises, I'm now opening my eyes to a whole new way of training, and applying these exercises (I.e. curls) to specifically accomplish a goal, improving my bench press.

Next month I will wrap up the power lifting season and go back to a kettlebell dominant workout plan (for GPP and health). It is very unlikely I will be doing curls or other isolation exercises. But it is nice to know that I now have a new tool in my tool belt.
 
A standing barbell curl I think is quite different from a seated curl as you need to keep your whole body stable for the lift. I am seeing and feeling a lot of growth in my shoulders to be sure, but also in my pectoral muscles (surprising to me) and core muscles (also a bit surprising to me) like my abdominals.

The standing barbell curl is really the pulling counterpart to the military press, since keeping your body rigid and stable is one half of it.
 
@Geoff Chafe Did some power curls today for the first time. Top set was 135x3 with blue fatgripz.

Big fan, will do them often.

Also did some power/cheat curls to reverse overhead press. Talk about getting an arm pump!

Thanks for the idea.
 
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